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Liberia Goes to the Polls as UN Confirms Two Deaths

By Politics Desk; published on November 8, 2011 at 11:38 pm

The United Party of Ellen Johnson launches its electoral campaign in September 2011. Image courtesy Adama B. Thompson, Executive Mansion

Liberia goes to the polls on 9th November 2011 to elect a new president for the West African nation. Nobel laureate and incumbent candidate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the United Party is standing against Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change, who was second in the first round of voting on 11th October 2011.

Two deaths were recorded by the UN Mission in Liberia in connection with the election. Violence erupted at the headquarters of the Congress for Democratic Change in Monrovia, resulting in UN police and helicopters being dispatched to the area. It is still unclear who was involved and what the nature of the incident was.

President Johnson-Sirleaf was adamant that the calls for a postponement from the opposition would not halt the democratic process:

“Our Constitution is clear on the process. Anyone who wanted to challenge the process should have done so through the courts, and there was sufficient time. But they did not, and the Elections Commission and I, myself, feel that halting the process this time is a disservice to the majority of the Liberian people who want to cast their vote and exercise their choice, so we are going to proceed with the process.”

200 observers from the Economic Community Of West African States are in place to report on the conduct of the election in addition to observers from the UN.

Posted by Politics Desk on November 8, 2011. Filed under Elections,News,Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

News Tags: ECOWAS, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, Monrovia, United Nations, Winston Tubman.

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